College Daze
by jdonatello
Summary: Emily Bishop enters her freshman year of college at the prestigious Hartfeld University. It is here she grows and learns more about herself, finding love, and the true meaning of friendship. **Based off THE FRESHMAN - BOOK 1, 2, 3, & 4**
1. Welcome to Hartfeld University!

Hartfeld University. One of the most prestigious colleges in the United States. Located in the middle of Greenfield and Northbridge, Massachusetts, Hartfeld is known for its academics and athletics, making it one of the more elite higher education institutions to get accepted into. And it's the first day of fall quarter for students and teachers alike, campus practically bustling with activity. All around, students are being escorted to their dorms, saying goodbye to their parents, mingling in the overcrowded Quad, having to deal with the monster that is the Financial Aid office … Typical first day of college woes.

One such student, eighteen-year-old Emily Bishop, stares wide-eyed at the lively campus. Being an upcoming freshman, it was understandable that Emily had more butterflies in her stomach than the average student. She had never been away from home for more than about three or four months, when her parents sent her and her two younger twin brothers to visit their grandparents over the summer. She was practically jumping with nerves - nerves of excitement, nerves of anxiousness, nerves of whatever else she could barely describe.

"My, my! The brochures do NOT give this place any justice! It's certainly grown since my time here," Emily's father, Mr. Arthur Bishop, stated as he heaved her oversized travel luggage bag across the concrete sidewalk, heading towards Emily's dorm.

Emily couldn't help but smile at her father. Mr. Arthur Bishop was tall and authoritative, the horn-rimmed glasses on his face made him seem like a high school principal that was always about business. He worked for a data security company so naturally, his work always kept him busy. Which wasn't necessarily always a bad thing. In fact, he could pay for Emily's tuition to Hartfeld without Emily having to dig too deep into the little financial aid that she did receive. However, it did keep him from the important things like attending his children's school functions or doing something special for his wife during anniversaries and whatnot. It was slowly becoming a strain on his marriage but Emily's parents would never admit to it.

Luckily, Emily's mother, Mrs. Jacqueline Bishop, had made such a fuss about him taking time off from work to drop their only daughter off at college for her first day that he was able to make it happen. Jacqueline rolled her eyes at her husband, studying the map of the school campus closely. "Well, if you would've came during orientation, it wouldn't seem so overwhelming," she smartly said to her husband.

"Thank you, Jackie," Arthur replied to his wife in a snarky manner.

Making sure to stay two paces forward of her parents, Emily smirks as they continued their playful banter. "You guys! Hurry up!" She said, crossing the street before a car-full of rowdy students passes by.

"I'm not sure we're going the right way. Didn't you say you were in the Langenkamp Suites? I saw a sign saying the suites were-"

Before Arthur finishes his sentence, Jacqueline interrupts her husband, still waving the campus map around in her hand: "The suites are near the campus coffee shop, which isn't far from the Science Hall."

"But-"

"Arthur, c'mon! I'm the one with the map. You just be sure not to drop Emily's stuff."

Giggling, Emily finally turns and looks at her Dad, who continues to heave her giant travel luggage bag on his shoulders. "Yes, PLEASE be careful, Dad. I have basically my whole life in there."

"I can tell!" Arthur complains, placing the large bag on the ground. "This thing weighs a damn ton. Really, Emily, do you honestly think you're gonna need ALL of this stuff?"

"A girl has to be prepared for all situations," Jacqueline replies before Emily can even say anything.

Smiling, Emily gives her Mom a high-five, "Thank you, Mom!"

"Of course. You know men don't get it."

Sighing, Arthur glances around for a second. "Clearly, I'm outnumbered here. I need to use the little boys' room before we go any further. Can I borrow that map of yours?" He reaches for the campus map that Jacqueline still clasps in her hand, who quickly pulls away, putting the map out of reach of her husband. "Uh! You absolutely cannot take my map."

"C'mon, Jackie! Stop playin', I gotta go use the bathroom!"

"Well, I'll direct you to the little boys' room. Knowing you, you might lose this. And we still gotta find our way off this big ass campus."

"C'mon then, I'm about to piss on myself," Arthur says, walking towards the closest building.

Shaking her head at her husband, Jacqueline begins to follow. Turning back to her daughter, she gives Emily a warm smile. "Stay right here. We'll be right back."

"I'm not goin' anywhere. Besides, I need Dad to finish carrying this for me," Emily says, pointing towards her large travel luggage bag placed neatly on the ground. Jacqueline giggles at her daughter before following her husband.

Now left alone on the sidewalk, Emily turns and looks at all the activity on campus. People mingling, seemingly overjoyed to be back after summer break. Not too far, where the Quad is located, it looks as if some type of event is about to be underway. Emily could just make out booths being set up and tents being pitched. She wasn't sure exactly what was going on, but whatever it was, it seemed to add to the liveliness of campus. Turning back to the building her parents disappeared in, she is completely caught off guard when she is knocked on the ground by a guy jogging by, who falls to the ground, too … right on top of her travel luggage bag.

The guy curses to himself as he sits up, noticing Emily catching her own bearings. "What the-" she says as she sits up, herself. It literally felt like she was knocked over by a truck.

The guy gets up immediately, helps Emily to her feet. "I am so sorry! Are you okay?"

"I feel like I was just knocked over by a bulldozer…" Emily starts as the guy pulls her to her feet. Finally regaining focus, she sees the guy fully. He was of average height (for a guy, anyway), muscular, and brown hair that was styled with gel to stand at the top of his head. His Nike jogging suit was covered in sweat.

"Sorry," the guy apologized with a sheepish smile.

"No, I should've been watching where I was walking. You okay?" Emily asked the guy, dusting her jeans off.

"It's all good. My ego's a little bruised, though. If the other guys on the football team saw me get tackled by a pretty girl like you, they'd never let me live it down."

Emily lets out a small giggle as the guy extends his hand, "I'm Chris."

"Emily. So … Football player?"

"Yep. Freshman football player, but I've been here since the summer. Football summer camp or whatever."

"Sounds fun. You likin' Hartfeld so far?"

"About as much as any other football player."

She gives him another smile, "I bet."

At Chris's feet, Emily sees that many things from her luggage popped out after he fell on the bag. Noticing her flustered look, Chris turns and sees that her bag has popped open, many items splayed on the ground around them.

"Ah, damn, my bad, man," he replies, instantly bending down and helping her put her things back into the bag. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay, I got it," Emily says, bending down and stuffing the fallen items back into her bag.

"I'd feel like a jackass if I didn't help," Chris stated, continuing to pass Emily her things as she puts them back into her bag. Grabbing whatever items he can off the ground, Chris picks up a lacy, black bra. His face instantly goes bright red, blushing. Emily's face matches his as she blushes, snatching the bra out of his hand and stuffing it into her bag, quickly zipping it up. She holds the few items remaining in her hands.

"Sorry, again," Chris exclaims sheepishly.

"I think that's enough help for one day," Emily quickly replies.

"Chris!"

The two are interrupted when a girl wearing all pink strides up to them. The heels she is wearing clicks and clacks on the concrete with sassiness. Her blonde hair flows behind her as she struts in between Emily and Chris with a smirk, a McCafe in her hand. Linking her free arm with Chris's, the blonde girl bats her eyes flirtatiously at him, "There you are! I've been looking all over for you. Don't forget about the Kappa house mixer tonight."

"Becca! What's up," Chris says, shooting a look Emily's way.

Taking a step back so Chris and the girl (obviously named Becca) can talk, Emily glances over to the building her parents disappeared into. She frowns, wondering what could be taking them so long.

Chris continues, "I meant to text you back about that. You know I'd love to go, but I promised my roommates I'd hang out with them tonight."

The girl named Becca pokes her bottom lip out in a pout, "Aww. Too bad. I PROMISE you'd have a better time with me…"

In high school, Emily did two years as a cheerleader and the remaining two years doing track & field. Dealing with the pompous girls on the cheerleading team that she did, Emily couldn't help but laugh after hearing Becca's voice become whiny like a baby. It reminded her of the girls from high school. High maintenance, bitchy, attention seeking ... This girl culminated them to a T. Unfortunately, Emily's laugh comes out like a snicker. This catches the attention of both Chris and Becca, both turning to give her looks. Becca frowns.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Are you lost, little girl?" Becca asks Emily snootily.

The phrase catches Emily off-guard, her face instantaneously frowning up. "Little girl?"

"I didn't stutter," the smirk is now gone from Becca's face. She has a frown rivaling Emily's at this point. Chris nervously looks from Emily to Becca, stepping between the two girls. "Uh, Becca, this is Emily-"

"I don't care who she is. She's obviously lost. Do you need help finding where you're supposed to be, little girl?"

"I THINK he told you my name was Emily," Emily shot back.

In the seconds after, Becca drops the iced coffee she's holding to Emily's feet, it splashing all over her. Gasping as she sees the dark coffee stain on her sweater and shoes, Emily looks up to Becca, glaring. "Seriously?!"

"Oops! I'm SO clumsy!" Becca mockingly says, placing a hand over her heart exaggeratedly.

Before Emily can say anything further, her parents come and waltz up, both smiling at Becca and Chris brightly. "Well, what do we have here?" Mrs. Bishop asks, giving both Chris and Becca a friendly grin. Becca returns the grin, waving to both of Emily's parents. However, Emily continues to shoot Becca her acid frown.

"Making friends already, sweet pea? Who's this?" Mr. Bishop asks, placing a hand on Emily's shoulder.

"Nobody," Emily quickly answers, turning away from both Chris and Becca. She begins to stalk off towards what she believes is her dorm room, the frown never leaving her face.

"Excuse me, little girl?!"

Steps stopping short, Emily turns back to where Becca is standing next to Chris, pleasant smile plastered on her face. The snide comment didn't come from Becca this time, however. It was her mother, who has her hands placed on her hips with attitude. "Where do you think you're going?!" Jacqueline asks her daughter.

"To my dorm-"

"Which is THAT way!" Emily's mother points to a large, older building in the opposite direction. Sheepishly looking from her parents, to Becca, to Chris, and to the large stain of coffee on her shirt, Emily stomps back over to them, shooting one last dead look Becca's way. She merely smirks at Emily, Chris giving off his best clueless jock impression that he can muster.

Arthur heaves the travel luggage on his shoulders, once again, nodding towards Chris and Becca through grunts and groans.

"Honey, what happened to your sweater?" Jacqueline asks, stopping Emily from walking past her. She attempts to pick at Emily's coffee-stained sweater, Emily quickly swatting her mother's hand away. "Mom, stop!"

Not stopping or looking back, Emily continues towards the old dorm building in a hurry. Behind her, she can hear Becca mockingly call after her: "Bye, Emily! See you around!" With a grimace, Emily nearly stops walking again, but catches herself. Irritation sinking in her body, she marches towards the rickety dorm building, her parents only steps behind her.


	2. Coffee Stains

A few minutes later, the inside of the Langenkamp Suites are just as lively as the outside of campus. Students rush around, gather belongings, being dropped off by parents, and interact with other students. RAs usher freshmen to their rooms, making sure they get to their properly assigned rooms without a hitch.

Emily steps off the elevator onto the second floor of the building, her parents not far behind. Gripping a sheet of paper in her hand that has her room number on it, she leads the way, glancing from door-to-door as she walks down the hallway. She passes open doors to rooms with already occupying students, catching a glimpse of new freshman like her moving into their rooms.

Her mother, Jackie, can barely contain her excitement for her daughter. "Isn't this exciting?! I remember my freshman year of college-"

A large thud from behind cuts her off. Emily and Jackie turn to see Arthur still struggling with Emily's oversized travel bag, it falls over his shoulders. "Arthur!" Jackie scolds her husband, her eyebrows furrowing up at him.

"Dad! Can you please be more careful!" Emily shouts to her father.

Arthur was now sitting on the floor, the luggage bag resting next to him. He pants as if he just ran a 100-mile marathon. "I'm just gonna … wait right here. Y'all go on ahead," he waves them off dismissively, still trying to catch his breath.

Rolling her eyes, Emily continues down the hall, the coffee on her shirt making her frown up again. She was used to dealing with girls like that Becca girl she had run into out near the Quad earlier. In high school, Emily was on the cheerleading team, she did the relay race in track and field, and gymnastics. Sure, she was popular by high school teenage standards, but she was never like the uppity popular kids whose presence she always seemed to grace. Some of the girls on the cheerleading teams she was on throughout high school were just as bad (if not worse!) than that Becca girl. Stuck up, bitchy, and snotty. Everything that Emily loathed.

"Emily!"

Stopping in her tracks, the voice of her mother breaks Emily out of her thoughts. She stops her walk, turns back towards Jackie. Standing in front of a door labeled '225', Jackie shoots her daughter a wide grin, pointing ominously to the door. She no longer brandishes the campus map she was holding earlier. She now has a printed piece of paper with Emily's school information on it, her dorm room number included.

"I think this is it!" Jackie exclaims excitedly, the grunts and groans of her husband can be heard getting closer to her and her daughter. Emily walks back over to her mother, stands next to her as she stares at the door. Mrs. Bishop claps her hands with excitement again, coming off as a giddy schoolgirl. "Aren't you excited?!"

"Mom. Just … PLEASE don't embarrass me," was all Emily could get out. She looks at her overly excited mother and her father, still clamoring behind them with her travel luggage. She sighs in exasperation.

Huffing, Jackie shoots Emily a look of incredulity. "It can't be any more embarrassing than walking around with coffee stains on your clothes."

Emily purses her lips at her mother, shooting her another look. Being her mother's only daughter, Emily and Jackie have always gotten along as any other mother-daughter could. That doesn't go to say that they didn't have their occasional spat, mainly due to Emily's ever increasing independent attitude, always wanting to go off and do what she wanted ... regardless of what her parents told her. That was one thing Jackie loved about her daughter. She was headstrong like her, but stubborn like her husband.

"Very funny, Mom," Emily replied sarcastically, gripping the door handle to the entrance of the dorm room.

"You wanna open that door, or what?! My back feels like it's about to give out on me!" Arthur cries fruitlessly in the background. His wife and daughter both ignore him as they swing the door to the dorm room open -

* * *

The door swings open to reveal a large entryway that leads into a stylish and modern kitchen area. Emily and her mother's mouths fall open in awe. Neither could believe the spacious size the kitchen produced. The bright lights and decor of the kitchen made it very easy on the eyes upon first entering, making the room that much trendier.

"Wow," Emily whispers to no one in particular as she walks deeper into the dorm/apartment, her mother hot on her heels as she whips out her digital camera.

Arthur comes clomping through the front door, Emily's travel bag still heaved over his shoulders. He grunts and groans as he tries to fit himself and the bag through the narrow doorway, Jackie and Emily barely paying attention as the two of them take in the surprisingly large dorm-suite.

It consisted of a fully working kitchen and a furnished living area where a big screen television is neatly placed in front of a couch, a loveseat, coffee table, and three-person sofa.

"This place is huge," Jackie says with a smile, snapping pictures as she moves through the dorm.

Finally making it into the dorm fully, Arthur plops on the loveseat tiredly. "I tell you one thing, Emily. All this crap you got in this bag BETTER be things you need," he grunts to his daughter as he leans into the loveseat. Giving her father a sweet smile, Emily glides over to him, placing a quick kiss on his cheek. "Like Mom said, 'a girl needs to be prepared for all situations'. Thank you, though, Daddy."

"Mm-hmm."

Deeper in the dorm-suite, a door can be heard opening and closing. Rapidly approaching footsteps can be heard not soon after and a girl comes barreling around a corner, ponytail bouncing behind her as she dashes into the room. Her smile was infectious as she gives Emily a welcoming hug. "Aaaaaahhhhhhhh! New roomie! You're finally here!"

Caught off guard, Emily chuckles awkwardly as she returns the hug to the girl. Her mother lets off another warm smile as she snaps a picture of the two with her digital camera. "Awwwww!" Jackie exclaims, rivaling that of a paparazzi cameraman.

Releasing Emily from the tight hug, the girl looks at the coffee stain on Emily's sweater that was starting to set into her clothes and shoes. Her smile promptly disappears and is replaced with a frown as she looks at the stain. "... And covered in coffee?" She asks Emily, almost sadly.

"Oh, you haven't heard? It's the hottest look for fall," Emily jokes with a grin, throwing her purse on the couch.

The girl's smile returns to her face, "Ooh, is that right? Well, I gotta say, you're definitely pulling it off. Seriously, you're, like, super pretty."

"Aw, thanks! You're really pretty, too," Emily compliments.

Her mother beams at them, "Isn't this great?! Already getting along!"

Rolling her eyes, Emily turns back to the girl. "I'm Emily."

"Kaitlyn!"

"These are my parents," pointing to both her mother and father, Emily tries to suppress a frown as the smell of the coffee stain reaches her nose. Arthur nonchalantly waves as he continues to rest on the plush loveseat. Jackie, still beaming, steps right in between the two girls, placing a hand on either of their shoulders.

"I hope you guys are ready for all the wild, crazy, and exciting things waiting for you this quarter! Freshman year is CRUCIAL. Probably more so than any other year you'll be in college," Jackie begins, Emily noticing a familiar gleam in her eye.

Emily's parents met at Hartfeld University years ago. They both were freshmen when they met; according to Jackie, Arthur was a raging asshole on the football team that she had no interest in at first. The attraction didn't start until the end of the year, Jackie finally agreeing to go on a first date with Arthur. And thus, started the romance that Emily's Mom tries to bring up whenever and however she can possible. The whole story made Emily's heart float with butterflies but that didn't mean she wasn't still uncomfortable with her mother spouting it off to any and every one that would listen. ESPECIALLY her roommate who she just met.

"I remember my freshman year at Hartfeld like it was yesterday-" Jackie continues.

Emily quickly interrupts, "Mom. Can we not?"

"Aw, but Emily! I thought you loved that story!"

"I do, but … Mom," a look of seriousness washes over Emily's face, making her mother slightly chuckle.

Kaitlyn's eyes light up with excitement, "You went to Hartfeld?"

"Sure did! All four years, Biology major," the gleam in Jackie's eyes reappears.

"That's awesome!" Kaitlyn squeals. She was a ball of energy, Emily noted. At least she seemed friendly. She would've dreaded to have a roommate like that Becca girl from earlier. She could tell they were going to get along JUST FINE. Kaitlyn gives Emily a look, "You're so lucky to have parents who went to college here. That can properly prep you! All my parents did was drop me off, give me a goody bag, and my Mom yells out the window as they're driving off, 'Be sure to change bras!'"

Emily and Jackie bowl over with laughs. The three women are interrupted by a soft snort and annoyed moan. Turning towards the sound, they see that Arthur has become mobile again, lugging the travel bag as he moves from the sofa. "I hate to break up this little comedy jam you guys got goin' on, but we DO need to get goin'. Emily, do you know what room you got?"

Still holding the paper that shows Emily's school information, Jackie looks at the paper, eyes squinting as she attempts to find her daughter's assigned room within the suite. That's when Kaitlyn pipes up: "I can show you! You're actually the last of our roommates to show up so it's only one room left, anyway. I figured it HAD to be yours."

Smirking, Emily says, "How intuitive."

Taking the lead, Kaitlyn begins to lead Emily, Jackie, and Arthur through the colorful and spacious suite. Emily glances around, taking notice of the various pictures hanging in the common area and the large screen television. At that moment, a thought hits her. "Wait a minute. I thought we had this place to ourselves," she asks, following Kaitlyn through the living room.

Kaitlyn chortles, turning back to Emily, "Ha! I wish. In case you haven't heard, the school's in a housing crunch. This is a six-person suite!"

Behind her, Emily can hear Jackie 'ooh' and 'aah' at what Kaitlyn says. "Six people?! Oh, my…" she looks behind her, seeing her husband still struggling to keep up with them. She ignores his tired grunts, however, just to say, "You hear that, Arthur? Emily has a six-person suite! Just think, if we had six people living under the same roof OUR freshman year … boy, oh, boy."

"That's great, honey," Arthur absentmindedly replies to his wife, the travel luggage bag seeming like it was about to crush his shoulders.

"We'll be sharing this place with one other girl … and three guys!" Kaitlyn announces excitedly, her always-present grin growing even wider, if that was even possible. Emily, on the other hand, was less-than-pleased to hear the news. "Ew! I can't believe I have to share this place with a bunch of gross dudes! … I feel like I just joined a frat or something."

Giggling, Kaitlyn turns a corner, still leading Emily and her parents through the suite to her room. "Aw, they're not SO bad. You'll like them once you meet, I promise."

Quickening her steps to where she is now walking alongside Emily and Kaitlyn, Jackie chimes in on the girls' conversation: "Ooh, AND if the boys ever get to be too much trouble, call me. We'll lock'em out of the suite and have a girl's night. Sound fun?"

Kaitlyn stops walking for a second to jump up and down excitedly, "Ooh! That sounds AWESOME!"

It looked as if Jackie finally had someone to match her excitable giddiness. Her and Kaitlyn both laughed like small children. "Right! We can watch horror movies and drink wine and eat popcorn!"

"Like Olivia Pope!"

"YES!"

Jackie and Kaitlyn high-five each other enthusiastically. Emily merely shakes her head at them. "Mom …"

"I know, I know," Jackie waves her daughter off with contempt.

What seemed like the longest few minutes in life, Kaitlyn finally approaches a door. She stops and turns to Emily. "This is it!" She turns and swings open the door to reveal a quaint room, already furnished with a bed, a small couch, a desk, a book stand, drawer, and whatever other essential item a college teenage girl may need. The only thing missing was a TV. But, Emily was never a huge TV watcher like that.

Not missing a beat, Jackie wanders in the room before Emily can even catch her own bearings, observing it closely. "This is cute ... At least your guy's suite doesn't look like the outside of the building. I thought Langenkamp was supposed to have been remodeled? It looks like it's about to fall apart."

"Hey," Kaitlyn starts with a shrug and a smile, placing her hands on her hips. "The school's in a housing crunch."

"Well … it looks clean. That's the most that we can ask for," Jackie remarks, looking over the room once again.

Emily's father plods through the door, dropping her luggage bag on the bed. The bag bounces neatly on the sheets, Arthur falling in the computer desk seat with beads of sweat starting to form on his forehead. "Emily … next time just bring the essentials."

Going over to her father and placing a hand on his shoulder, Emily laughs heartily. "Dad, I told you-"

"Yeah, yeah, a girl has to be prepared and all that hoopla. Well, I for damn sure will not be lugging this big ass thing up next time."

"Oh, yes you will!" Jackie frowns up at her husband, who ignores her as he catches his breath.

Taking notice of the big mirror placed on top of the dresser, Emily looks over to Kaitlyn, who lets out another giggle as she watches her parents bicker with each other. "I love your parents."

The two adults continue their banter, Emily watching them. She shrugs her shoulders, "Eh, I guess. They're on their best behavior right now. Wait until you see them in their natural elements."

"That would probably make me love them even MORE!"

"Jackie, we gotta get going. We only have that babysitter for the end of the night to watch the boys," Arthur instructs his wife, standing to his feet as he wipes his forehead with the back of his hand.

Giving the room one last look over, Jackie shushes her husband. "I know about the babysitter. Hopefully the boys didn't destroy the backyard …"


	3. Bye, Mom! Bye, Dad!

After helping her daughter unpack a few of her essential items and clothes, Jackie reconvenes with her husband back in the common area, where he waits for the women with impatience on the loveseat he was resting on earlier. She gives him a glance, taking heed to his querulous demeanor. She quickly brushes it off, though, as she turns to her daughter one last time. The smile she's had on her face the entire time fades, substituted with a sad smirk.

"I can't believe this ... My little girl is starting her first year of college!" She squeals, embracing Emily in a tight hug.

Eyes rolling for what seemed like the hundredth time today, Emily wraps her arms around her mother lovingly. "Aw, Mom. I'll be okay. Thanks for coming with me today."

The two of them stand and hug for a moment longer. Once they part, Jackie's eyes become watery, tears threatening to fall out. Behind her, Arthur moves to hug his daughter, too. As usual, his aloof attitude takes over him. But, Emily could tell he was becoming a little emotional. He hugs his daughter tightly, "Remember, if you need anything, we're only a two-hour drive away. I love you, sweet pea."

"I love you, too, Daddy. Thanks again for carrying my bag," she adds, smiling.

Her Dad lets out a raucous laugh as the two of them part. "You think I'm playin'. I will NOT be doin' that again."

Playfully slapping her husband in the chest, Jackie scolds him as if he was one of her kids: "Stop saying that! You WILL help her. Or so help me God, you'll be eating Ramen Noodles for the rest of the year."

"Well, thank goodness that grill is right outside on the patio," Arthur snorts.

Kaitlyn laughs again, "Don't worry! Emily's in good hands!" She places an arm on Emily's shoulder, broad smile on her face.

The comment seems to calm Jackie's nerves down somewhat, smirking as she watches the two new roommates. "Please, Kaitlyn! If she gives you guys any trouble, do not hesitate to call me. Emily can be a handful," she laughs through small sniffles, earning her another eye roll from her daughter.

Kaitlyn just continues to smile, "I've got it handled."

"Mom …" Emily growls through another smirk.

"Okay, okay. I'm just teasin'. Seriously, though, guys. If those boys give you any trouble, don't hesitate to call me," Emily's Mom adds as her and her husband head toward the front door of the suite.

"I'm definitely taking you up on that offer!" Kaitlyn replies as her and Emily follow Mister and Mrs. Bishop to the door.

Arthur, who's been silent this whole time, opens the suite door and heads into the still busy dorm hallway. Students still mill about, traveling up and down the swamped hall. Emily steps out after her Dad with her mother at her side, the reality of her parents leaving finally starting to hit her. She tried her best not to let the tears threatening to fall from her eyes go, but seeing the forlorn look on her mother's face was all that was needed for a few of the tears to drop.

"Aw, honey!" Jackie exclaims, wrapping her daughter in another hug.

Arthur just chuckles, shaking his head at his wife and daughter for the umpteenth time. Emily and Jackie hug for a moment longer, letting it all out. Once they part, Jackie whispers to Emily, "I love you."

"I love you guys, too. Call me when you make it back home," Emily replies softly.

"We gotta make it there first," Arthur jokes, digging in his pocket for the car keys. The crack earns him a playful smack in the back of the head from his wife.

Turning back to her daughter, Jackie says, "Don't listen to your father. I'll call you as soon as we make it back."

Arthur grabs his wife's waist, leading to the dorm elevators. "We love you, honey."

"Bye, Mom! Bye, Dad!"

"Bye, baby!" Jackie yells, waving to Emily fervently but allowing herself to be pulled by Arthur. "Stop pullin' me so hard!"

Her smile comes back to her face as she watches her parents start bantering with each other again. Despite the issues they were having due to her father's busy work schedule, it seems as if the marriage counseling Arthur and Jackie were attending over the past few months were working. They argued like the cute, married couple they were and Emily couldn't help but admit that she would miss that part the most about living at home.

Kaitlyn stands and watches Emily's parents get on the dorm elevator for a moment longer, allowing Emily to process the fact that her parents were leaving. As soon as they disappear onto the elevator -

"Okay, enough of this sad ass jibber jabber!" Kaitlyn tugs Emily's shirt, motioning towards the coffee stain that has now called itself home on the upper part of the sweater. "You need to hurry up and change so we can hit up the Welcome Week Fair!"

Both girls enter back into their dorm-suite, walk through the kitchen, and stop just short of the common room. "The Welcome Week Fair? Was that what they were setting up all those booths and stuff out on the Quad earlier for?" Emily asks.

Kaitlyn grins widely, "More than likely. Every year, they set up this MASSIVE slip n' slide in the middle of the fair. It looks super fun. Annnnnnd ... it's a great excuse to wear a bikini!"

The thought got Emily smiling again, the sadness that her parents were gone quickly washing away. She was now a college freshman living on one of the best campuses in the country. No way was she about to sit in her dorm being sad that Mommy and Daddy left. She was about to LIVE. "So … are you gonna do it?"

Nodding, Kaitlyn answers, "Definitely! You only get one chance to make a first impression. Sliding through the Quad in a sexy swimsuit is a great way to make an entrance."

"Sounds fun! I'm in!"

"Awesome! I'm about to go change, meet you in the living room?"

"Cool beans!"

Watching Kaitlyn run out of her room and down the hall to where her room must be located, Emily quickly turns to her travel luggage bag on her bed and begins to rummage through it. She eventually pulls out a multi-colored two-piece, displaying colors like pink, aqua, and black. She only got to wear it once over the summer so to say that she was ecstatic at having a reason to pull it out would be an understatement.

Throwing her coffee-stained sweater off in record time, Emily changes into her swimsuit, pulling short jeans over the bottom half of the bikini. She checks herself out in the mirror one more time before hearing a knock at her door. She turns and sees Kaitlyn walk into her room, a cute all black two-piece swimsuit wrapped around her body. The two girls exchange grins with each other:

"Ooh, girl! Lookin' sexy!" Emily praises Kaitlyn, looking her up and down as her roommate does a spin, allowing her to view the full image.

Kaitlyn was obviously impressed by Emily's bikini, too, due to the seductive look she was shooting her roommate's way. Emily laughs as she moves to stand in front of the mirror with her.

"What do you think?" Emily asks.

"I think I'm roommates with the hottest girl at Hartfeld!"

Laughing, the two girls strike a pose in the mirror, Charlie's Angels style. "Thanks. You don't look so bad yourself," Emily comments to Kaitlyn.

"So … ready to go make a splash?" Kaitlyn asks, switching her hips as she walks to Emily's room door.

"Let's do this!"


	4. The Welcome Week Fair

Together, Kaitlyn and Emily head across campus towards the packed Quad, where many other students mingle. It's like a festival at midday with music blaring out of large speakers along with game booths, tents, and grills being manned by students and professors alike. In the middle of the Quad sits an expansive slip n' slide, where many freshmen try their luck at making it to the end of the slippery slide. Onlookers cheer the freshmen coasting down the slide on.

Another girl jumps on the slip n' slide, her body cascading down the middle of the Quad with a splash. Upperclassmen cheer her on with enthusiasm. Kaitlyn smiles as the girl reaches the end of the slide, rubbing her hands together. "Here goes nothing!"

She lets out a victory cry as she runs to the beginning of the slide! As she jumps onto the slide, splashes of water come up around, getting some of the surrounding crowd a little wet. Fellow students watching go insane at her as she makes it all the way down the slide. Emily cheers her roommate on, clapping her hands and yelling loudly. "Go Kaitlyn!"

Once Kaitlyn reaches the end of the slide, she stands up with her hands in the air and a smile on her face, giving Emily a thumbs up from the other side. "Okay," Emily starts with a deep breath, preparing herself for the jump and slide down. "My turn."

Mustering up the best impersonation of a roar as she could, Emily sprints across the grass and dives head-first onto the slide. Her body washes down the slide in a flurry, her hair tangling in her face and obscuring her vision. She could still hear the cheers of other students yelling at her in applause over the sounds of the water. "THIS. IS. **COLLEGE**!" She screams, a large smile brandishing her face.

Reaching the end of the slide, Emily is met by massive cheers, Kaitlyn included. Helping her roommate up, Kaitlyn envelops Emily in a tight hug, jumping up and down with excitement. "That was so much fun!"

Taking a quick look around at the watching students, Emily makes eyes with that guy Chris she ran into earlier standing off to the side near one of the food booths … He watches her with a smirk. He stands next to another guy wearing a black muscle shirt, tattoos lining his arms. ' _Obviously, one of Chris's football buddies_ ,' Emily thinks to herself. Watching the two guys whisper to each other and stare and smirk at her a minute longer, Emily finds herself being pulled by Kaitlyn in the other direction.

"C'mon! I saw a snow cone booth over here earlier," Kaitlyn exclaims with excitement, breaking out in a run while tugging Emily along with her.

"Slow down!" Emily shouts with a laugh, allowing herself to be pulled to a booth where snow cones are being made at. The person behind the booth making the snow cones was a lady who gives the girls a warm smile.

"That was quite the slide you girls did," the lady starts, grabbing two cones almost immediately. "What'll it be?"

"I'll take a strawberry, please!" Kaitlyn requests, sounding like a little girl in a candy store.

"And you, dearie?" The snow cone lady asks Emily, who glances at the menu, taking in all the different flavors on display.

It's been so long since she had snow cones, Emily wasn't sure what kind of flavor she wanted. Not being able to pick a certain one, she decided to just go with, "I'll take rainbow."

The snow cone lady gives another smile, digging into the ice, ready to prepare the girls' snow cones. She quickly makes two large snow cones, one strawberry and one rainbow, handing them to Kaitlyn and Emily respectively. Both girls take their cones, bite into them ravenously. The lady giggles as she watches the girls with amusement. "You better slow down, dearies. Wouldn't want you to get brain freezes!"

"Thank you, ma'am!" Emily waves to the lady as her and Kaitlyn walk away from the booth, both with pleasured smiles as they continue digging into their snow cones.

* * *

A little while later, after Emily and Kaitlyn take a few minutes to dry off and finish off their snow cones, they wander around the rest of the fair, checking out the various booths and attractions going on. Kaitlyn munches on some cheese nachos, looking at all the different organizations that have booths set up.

"Okay, let's see here …" She says through a mouthful of chips, looking at the booth on their left as they walk down the Quad. "A Capella? Nah, can't sing." They continue walking, Kaitlyn's attention turning to the booth on their right. "Student government? Nah, don't care."

Snatching a chip off Kaitlyn's plate, Emily laughs at her. "You're crazy. I'd actually be interested in-"

Just then, they come across the Kappa Phi Sigma booth, Emily instantly recognizing a familiar face. "Becca," Emily says, a strong frown forming on her face.

Becca turns, McCafe in hand, meeting eyes with Emily. Standing next to her at the booth is another girl clad in all pink, long blonde hair flowing past her shoulders. The two of them looked like the poster sorority girls, with the blonde hair, fake nails, and snooty looks on their faces. Becca smirks at Emily, sipping her McCafe through a straw.

"Emily," Becca starts, her frown growing deeper as she looks Emily up and down, eyes scanning her bikini. Emily gladly shoots the frown right back at her. Scoffing, Becca continues, "Could you not stand so close to our tent? We don't want people thinking Kappa Phi Sigma would associate with someone like you."

Stepping next to Emily, Kaitlyn has stopped eating her nachos, joining in on the glares that Emily and Becca shoot to each other. "Wow, Emily, is this girl serious?"

"Unfortunately," Emily replies, never taking her eyes off of Becca.

"I saw you looking at my man again. Seriously, at this point, you just seem desperate," Becca says to Emily, still smirking and glaring as she motions towards Chris and his football buddies.

Doing her now almost trademark eye roll, Emily's glare seems to deepen at the comment. "Gimme a break! I don't even know him!"

"Last I checked, you don't have to know a guy to want to sleep with him," Becca spits out. Despite the smirk on her face, her words rang out like acid. Something about Emily that she didn't like; Emily couldn't place her finger on it, though. She did nothing to this girl. And if all of this was over a boy, then none of it was worth it in the least.

"Are you kidding me?! Trust me, I am totally not checkin' for that dude like that," Emily tries to plead her case, Becca wasn't trying to hear it, however.

Raising a hand not far from Emily's face, Becca lets out another scoff, "Puh-lease. Like anyone would believe that. Your desperation is so obvious, it's sad. Move along, little girl."

The other girl in pink standing next to Becca looks over Emily's bikini before turning to Becca, "Are you sure about that, Becca? I mean, look at her bikini ... it's pure hotness!" Becca's companion looks back over to Emily sadly, a longing look casting over her bikini once again. "Aren't we basically honor bound to sign her up?"

Becca wasn't impressed, though, as she continued sipping through her straw to her McCafe. She turned her scoff to her friend, "Madison, would you PLEASE stop undermining me?"

"You don't have anything to worry about, Becca," Emily begins, taking steps to walk away from the Kappa Phi Sigma booth. "I'm not interested in joining any sorority that associates with someone like you."

Smirking even wider, Becca waves to both Emily and Kaitlyn in a condescending manner, "That's what I thought. Buh bye."

Kaitlyn does her own scoff towards Becca as Emily rolls her eyes, the two girls starting to walk away. Emily had no idea what Becca had against her, besides the fact that she had friendly conversation with Chris when the two of them collided into each other earlier near the dorms. It seemed as if this girl was hateful and bitchy for no apparent reason. Taking a quick glance at the McCafe cup that Becca was sipping on, an almost insane and impossible thought crossed Emily's mind. She tried her very best to not be confrontational with others if she could avoid it. But, she wasn't about to be disrespected or played like a simpleton, either.

"I see you got yourself a new coffee, Becca," Emily's frown is replaced by a smirk as she takes a few timid steps towards the Kappa Phi Sigma booth. Becca stops sipping through her straw for a moment to deepen her glare at Emily.

"Yeah? What's it to you?" Becca answers smartly.

In a quick movement, Emily knocks her hand against Becca's cup, spilling it all over her! Becca gasps and screams, looking at the huge coffee stain forming on her black shirt. She looks back up towards Emily, giving her a dead look of evilness through squinted eyes. "You little witch!"

Smiling, Kaitlyn lets out a small giggle, "You should be more careful. Coffee stains are super hard to get out."

Balling her fists, it almost seemed as if Becca wanted to put hands on the two freshmen girls. She must've had some 'calm down' techniques, however, because she took a soothing deep breath with her eyes closed before saying another word. Once she opens her eyes again, the sneer she gives is nothing short of intimidating. "I promise you … you are going to regret this. Mark my f***ing words."

Emily shrugs, letting out a giggle matching Kaitlyn's, unfazed by Becca's words. "Eh. It seemed like you already hated me, anyway."

"GET. AWAY. FROM. ME!" Becca couldn't contain herself, she shrieked.

Passerby saw the disturbance, students eyeing the scene with caution. It was clear something was awry at the Kappa Phi Sigma booth and people were making sure to not come anywhere near it. This caught the attention of Becca's companion, Madison, who watched people walk right past their booth, weary stares as they passed. "Becca … I think people are avoiding our booth."

"Shut up, Madison!"

"I guess this is where we say 'buh bye'," Emily laughs again, waving to the fuming Becca as she leads Kaitlyn away from the Kappa Phi Sigma booth. Kaitlyn cracks up with laughter, flashing Emily a broad smile. "I can't believe you did that!"

"Hey, she had it comin'. That was the bitch who spilled coffee on my sweater," Emily lets out a chortle, taking another one of Kaitlyn's nacho cheese chips.

"Yeah, Miss Queen Bee was seriously hatin'. She was totally jealous of your bikini," Kaitlyn says before coming to a thought that makes her burst out laughing again. "AND you doused her in coffee!"

Emily felt proud of herself. Even though she wasn't the confrontational type, she wasn't a pushover. Her years as a cheerleader had seen to that. "Trust me. She had it coming."

The roomies slap each other a high-five, continuing their way down the packed Quad strip. Kaitlyn sighs longingly, "I can't believe it … your first day and you've already got a nemesis. You're so lucky!"

Raising an eyebrow, Emily grabs another one of Kaitlyn's cheese chips, "I think your definition of lucky may be different than mines."

Walking through the throngs of people packed on the Quad, the two girls bob and weave through the many groups and groups of people. Emily's mind was more focused on snatching another one of Kaitlyn's cheese nachos so she wasn't too aware of her steps. She accidentally bumps into the side of someone. Immediately, her head snaps up, her eyes meeting with a tall guy with a fitted cap on backwards. He was well dressed in collar shirt and slacks with stylish dress shoes. And he was very easy on the eyes, in Emily's opinion.

"Sorry," Emily apologized quickly and quietly.

"No worries, it's cool," the guy says just as quickly, being pulled by another well-dressed guy who talks to his buddy excitedly. The two stalk off in the other direction, the guy that Emily had bumped into taking a second longer to look back at her before being pulled from view by his friend. Emily turns back to Kaitlyn, who's eyes have gone wide with amusement. "Ooh, girl! They were FINE!"

Turning back to see if she can catch a glimpse of the guys, Emily merely shrugs her shoulders when she can no longer see them. "They was alright, I guess."

"Tuh, more than alright. I can say one thing … Hartfeld has some nice lookin' dudes," Kaitlyn replies, eating the last of her cheese nachos before dumping the plate into a trash can as they walked pass.


	5. Heading to the Roof

The sun was setting and the Welcome Week Fair was ending, students dispersing and heading back to their dorms after a day of festive activities. Emily and Kaitlyn take their time going back to their dorms at the Langenkamp Suites, talking and laughing about the day's events. Kaitlyn pulls her phone out of her pocket, squinting at a text message. "It looks like the rest of our roommates already made it back."

Emily smiles, "Awesome!"

To be honest, she couldn't wait to meet the rest of her roommates. According to Kaitlyn, they all seemed to be cool. She hopes she would be able to mesh as well with the rest of them as she has with Kaitlyn.

Finally making it back to their suite, Emily immediately goes to her room. She hops in the shower and changes out of her bikini, feeling refreshed and re-energized after a grueling day of moving and unpacking and fun. The day was beginning to wear on her, but she felt like she needed to go and mingle with the rest of her roommates before the day ended.

After showering and changing into some regular clothes, Emily steps out of her room and makes her way to the suite living room, where she finds a girl standing in front of a painter's easel. The girl was extremely pretty with her natural hair standing tall at the top of her head. She had a mole on her left cheek and glasses, Emily taking note that her naturalness added to her gorgeousness. Upon seeing Emily walk into the living room, the girl smiles at her widely. "Hi!"

"Hey!" Emily greets in a friendly tone.

"You must be Emily. I'm Abbie."

Grinning, Emily extends her hand for a handshake to Abbie, who jumps back in a panic. Emily pulls her hand back instantly, her face falling with worry.

"Careful!" Abbie warns, "It's just … I got paint all over me. I wouldn't wanna ruin your clothes."

"Oh. So, you're an artist?"

Abbie tries to suppress a giggle, "No. I'm a long way away from callin' myself an artist." She takes her paint brush and goes over the easel smoothly. Cocking her head to the side to look at the picture she was painting, Abbie continues, "I guess I'm … a girl that paints?"

Taking a seat in the loveseat in the living room, Emily tries to get a glimpse of Abbie's painting. "Hey, we all gotta start somewhere, right?"

Smiling, Abbie turns her attention back to Emily, "That is very true … Anyway … the guys are all up on the roof. I was gonna head up there a little later if you wanna go ahead."

Kaitlyn bounds the corner, having overheard Abbie's statement. "Oh, no you don't! You're coming with us, Abbie… you can finish your painting later!"

Abbie cocks her head again, taking another look at her painting. "Hmm … I guess I'm close to being done. What do you think, Emily?"

Getting up from the loveseat, Emily makes her way over to where Abbie has her easel set up. Her and Kaitlyn glimpse over Abbie's shoulder, taking a closer look at the painting in question. The picture that she produced with paint was absolutely astounding. It was an outside portrait of a girl in a forest, an elegant, white dress flowing behind her. Sunlight shined down through the leaves of the trees, illuminating the area. Around her stood many forest animals such as deer, foxes, and rabbits, all looking at the girl with wide eyes. It reminded Emily of a scene straight out of a Disney princess movie. "Abbie ... It looks _amazing_! Where'd you learn to paint like that?"

Blushing, Abbie puts her painter brush down near the easel. She takes a rag and wipes the paint off her hands. "I probably spent every lunch period in the art studio during high school. My art teacher was a big influence on me. She really helped me find my style, y'know?"

Kaitlyn gets a better look at the painting, herself, nodding her approval. "That is SO cool! The closest thing I had to a mentor in high school was _Vogue_."

Both Emily and Abbie can barely contain their giggles. It looked as if Kaitlyn would be the comic relief around their suite, which Emily was perfectly fine with. "Well," Emily starts, "I guess we find inspiration where we can, right?"

"You are SO right," Kaitlyn responds, heading towards a door that leads to the rooftop of the suite. "Alright, ladies! _Now_ are we ready to go up on the roof? I think a party's waiting for us."

Walking over to her, Abbie and Emily exchange smiles. Sighing, Abbie shrugs her shoulders as she follows Kaitlyn out the door leading to the roof. "I guess so … But, ONLY if I get to choose the music."

"Your wish is my command!"

* * *

Kaitlyn leads Emily and Abbie out onto the rooftop deck of the suite, the girls carefully walking up the steps leading to outside. Once they open the door, they are met with an amazing overhead view of the town of Hartfeld, the campus in particular being able to be seen extremely well with the dim lights flickering in the night sky.

Emily takes a moment to take in the view, it momentarily putting her in awe. Her mouth hangs open as she looks over the railing of the rooftop and down at the dark campus. "Amazing," she whispers to herself.

The rooftop deck was a sight within itself. It was laced with flowers and plants and a gazebo sits right in the middle, a grill and a patio placed conveniently inside. Kaitlyn smiles widely as she looks around at the rooftop, "Niceeee. We've got an amazing view!"

In the gazebo, a radio blasts music - _**CUE MUSIC (Cool Kids - Echosmith)**_. Two guys sit, drinking beers. The girls trek up to them, Kaitlyn waving with excitement. "Hey, guys!"

Abbie turns to Emily, "Ready to meet the guys? This is-"

She's cut off by one of the guys, who gets to his feet at the sight of Emily. In fact, he was VERY familiar to Emily. "Actually … we already met," the guy interrupts Abbie.

Emily comes to a halt, staring at the guy - It was Chris!


	6. Meeting the Roomies

Emily stands there, her mouth open and closing like a fish out of water. She stares at Chris, unable to contain her surprise at discovering that he was one of her roommates! "Chris?!"

Chris steps up to the girls, a charming smile plastered on his lips. "This can't be purely coincidence."

Exchanging a look with Kaitlyn, Abbie turns to Emily and Chris. Emily still giving the most bewildered look she can towards Chris, Abbie comments, "Wait. You two know each other?"

"I wouldn't necessarily say _know_ each other … we ran into each other earlier, so to speak," Chris responds with a snicker.

After the initial shock wears off, Emily cautiously moves to the edge of the railing of the roof, Chris stepping up next to her.

She didn't know how to take the fact that Chris was her roommate. That sorority girl Becca had made it a point to let Emily know that she had already staked a claim to the football player merely off of a friendly conversation that Emily and Chris had earlier. And if that was going to cause trouble in her living situation, Emily already knew that she wanted nothing to do with it.

Sighing, Chris steps next to Emily. She shoots him a weary look out of the corner of her eye. "So … what about this roof, huh? You can see the whole town from up here," Chris begins. Emily wasn't a fan of meaningless convo and that was exactly what it seemed like Chris was dredging up.

"It is beautiful, I can certainly say that," Emily said, looking over at all the dim lights of the city of Hartfeld.

"Beautiful? I can only assume y'all talkin' about me!" A voice rings out from behind them.

Chris lets out another chuckle as he rolls his eyes, turning towards the sound of the voice. It was the other guy that was on the roof. He was a decent looking guy with a curly hair and a flawless face, almost looking like a swimsuit model straight out of a magazine. "Nobody was talkin' about you, bro," Chris says to the guy.

Walking in between Chris and Emily, the guy shrugs Chris off as he takes a sip of the beer he's holding. He turns towards Emily, looking her up and down. It was almost a look of seduction as far as Emily was concerned. She frowns her face at him, "What?"

"Where'd you get that shirt from?"

The question obviously catches Emily off-guard as she glances down at her shirt in surprise. "Um … I got it from _Dynasty_. Why?"

"I knew it! Girl, that place is exclusive as hell! My ex-dude use to model for Dynasty but outside of that, I haven't seen too many people wearing it."

Emily's frown she had given towards the guy a few moments ago quickly faded. She smiled, squinting her eyes in a playful manner. "They're different. My Mom bought me this shirt. At first, I didn't like it, but after looking up the brand itself, I did find some pretty neat stuff."

"They DO have some nice stuff! FINALLY, someone with a sense of fashion around here!" The guy exclaims, slapping a hand on Emily's shoulder. "I can tell we are goin' to get along JUST fine."

Laughing, Chris playfully shoves the guy. "Man, move! You 'ol wannabe fashion designer!"

The guy shrugs Chris off again, "Screw you, Chris." Turning back to Emily, the guy gives her another one of those seductive looks. "I'm Zack. I may have had one too many beers so excuse me if I'm comin' on a little strong. But, you are rockin' the hell outta that shirt, though."

Perking up, Emily gives Zack another wide smile, placing her own hand on his shoulder. "Thank you! I guess you're gonna be our own resident fashion expert."

"I don't have a problem with that, you look like you don't need any pointers from me, though. But, as long as we can go shopping together, I'll be whatever you want me to be," Zack says, him and Emily high-five'ing each other.

"You got yourself a shopping buddy," Emily remarks, Kaitlyn bounding over to them, ponytail bouncing behind her. She leans on Emily's shoulder, butting into the conversation. "Don't think you guys are gonna leave me out! SHOPPING BUDDIES!"

In the middle of the gazebo, Abbie fiddles with the radio as Emily, Kaitlyn, Zack, and Chris head over. Zack grins at Kaitlyn, playfully letting his eyes go to the top of his head. "Kaitlyn, calm down. I swear you be actin' like a four-year-old on a sugar rush."

"More like a recovering crack addict," Chris chimes in. Emily and Zack can't help but laugh at the joke. Kaitlyn is less than amused, however. "Very funny, assholes," she grumbles through gritted teeth. She still manages to produce another one of her contagious smiles. "Y'all get on my nerves," she adds as the four of them finally make it to the gazebo, all taking a seat at the patio underneath it.

Taking a curious look around the roof, Abbie says, "I feel like we're still missing someone ..."

"There he is!" Chris shouts, standing to his feet as he grabs another beer out of a cooler. He points to the far end of the roof, where another guy can be seen standing by himself, looking out at the stars.

"Tyler! Can you PLEASE drop that shy nerd act?! Please?! Bring your ass over here and talk to our new roommate!" Zack calls out to the guy, Emily deducting that his name must be Tyler.

The guy in question, evidently named Tyler, moves his attention from the stars, looking over to the group. He had a wrinkled plaid shirt on and messy black hair. He begins walking over to the gazebo, sheepish smile on his face. Emily takes note of his awkwardness as he joins the rest of them, taking a seat, Zack handing him a beer.

"Sorry …" Tyler starts, eyes falling on Emily. She gives him a friendly smile as she reaches out her hand for a handshake. "Hi, I'm Emily."

"Nice to finally meet you, roomie! I'm Tyler. I didn't mean to be anti-social, I was just checking to see if I could spot Cassiopeia," Tyler remarks, shaking Emily's hand. He pops open the beer and takes a sip, his face scrunching up with disgust as he takes a gulp.

"Cassiopeia?" Emily asks.

Nodding, Tyler answers, "Yeah, the constellation? They're a little different here than back home in California."

"Oh, hey, I didn't know you were into stargazing, Tyler!" Abbie says, looking up from the radio as she still struggles to find the perfect song. "I used to do that all the time when I was little."

Tyler's eyebrows raise slightly, his cheeks blushing with red. "Really?!"

"Really! Me and my sister use to try and compete who can guess the most constellations at one time … Made it into our own little game, y'know?"

"Aw, wow. That sounds awesome, Abbie," Tyler utters with wonder. He gives Abbie a look of pure infatuation as she finally plugs her phone into the auxiliary cord connected to the radio.

Zack continues to sit with his beer, moving his looks from Tyler to Abbie with a mischievous smirk. He subtly pats Emily on the knee. "Emily. Sidebar?"

Hopping up from the patio under the gazebo, Zack heads over to one of the many pots of plants that reside on the rooftop deck. He turns back to Emily, who hasn't moved, egging her to follow him. Catching the hint, she gets to her feet and walks over to him. Once they are out of earshot of their roommates, Zack's smirk grows wider. "Ok. I feel like I need to fill you in on this."

Confused, Emily shrugs her shoulders, "Fill me in on what?"

"My guy Tyler has this huge insta-crush on Abbie. And being the noble and selfless dude that I am, I've made it my personal mission to get those two crazy kids together."

Emily's heart flutters. If it was one thing she loved, it was love. Her parents may have had their issues, but they made sure to make sure that their kids knew that they loved one another. Emily and her little brothers NEVER saw their parents argue. Even when they were being snarky and rude to each other, Emily could tell it came from a loving place. Honestly, Emily could only hope and wish that she could find love like her parents. Just watching it growing up made her believe that true, TRUE love did indeed exist. "Aw, Zack! That's so sweet!"

"Tell me something I don't know," Zack sticks his nose in the air arrogantly, earning him a laugh from Emily. "But those two are so awkward and weird, I found playing Cupid to be easier said than done when it comes to them. Which is why I need your help."

Raising an eyebrow, Emily looks back over to the roommates. Her eyes specifically fall on Abbie and Tyler. The two of them moved oddly around each other. Like, the attraction was there but neither one of them knew how to move forward with it. It was cute and sad at the same time. "Let me guess. You want me to help you play matchmaker?"

"Level with me here," Zack continues, dramatically placing his hands in front of his heart. "I need someone with some sense. And compared to the rest of these fools, you seem like you have at least a little bit."

"Oh, gee, thanks," Emily replies sarcastically. Albeit, she still smiles at Zack. She extends her hand to him for a handshake, a notion for an agreement amongst the two of them. "But! I never turn down a chance to an opportunity of spreading the joys of love. Consider this match MADE!"

Returning her determined grin, Zack takes her hand. The two firmly shake hands, solidifying the agreement. "Glad to have you on board. Just follow my lead."

Nodding her understanding, Emily follows Zack back over to the rest of the roommates. Zack shoots Emily a thumbs up before he pretends to trip, 'accidentally' pushing Abbie into Tyler! Abbie falls forward, Tyler reaching out and grabbing her in record time. Surprised, Abbie glances up at Tyler with rosy cheeks. "Oh! Sorry, Tyler …" Her flushed expression quickly dissipates as she turns back to Zack, deep frown in her eyebrows. "Damn, Zack! Act like you don't have two left feet!"

"Sorry, sorry!" Zack holds his hands up in defense.

Abbie turns back to Tyler, her cheeks immediately going back to rose color. "I, uh … thanks for catching me or whatever, Tyler."

Tyler raises his hand uncomfortably, stuttering over his words, "Any time! Duh, uh, uh, I mean … any time you fall into me … Not … any other time."

Zack exchanges an exasperated glance with Emily, rolling his eyes and shaking his head. Emily shrugs her shoulders with a warm smile, taking a seat back next to Kaitlyn. "I KNOW we don't only have these weak ass beers to drink."

"Girl, these beers are not weak. You see Zack trippin' over himself," Chris adds, finishing off the beer he holds in his hand. Once he gulps the contents, he throws the empty can into a nearby trashcan. Zack scowls at Chris, "SCREW YOU, Chris!"

Chris lets out a piercing laugh, "Emily, I haven't even see you drink a beer, yet."

"I'm not lookin' for beer. I wish we had some liquor…" Emily starts, her voice trailing off. "I mean, this IS suppose to be a party, right?"

"I got a bottle of _Remy_ down in my room," Kaitlyn pipes up. All eyes fall on her, every last one of her roommates looking absolutely perplexed.

Zack scoffs, "Bitch and you JUST now tellin' us?! Go get that s***!"

"Emily, come help me go get it," Kaitlyn quickly says as she stands to her feet.

Emily raises a confused eyebrow at her. "Do we really need two people to go get a bottle of-"

"C'mon, bitch!" Kaitlyn grabs Emily's wrist, dragging her back down the steps leading to the suite. Before Emily could think of any protest, Kaitlyn was already opening and closing the door leading to the rooftop, heading for her dorm room.


	7. Getting Him to Spill His Guts

Kaitlyn slams the door behind her as she drags Emily through it. She scuffles through the living room and down to her room, Emily struggling to keep up with her. "Kaitlyn, slow down!"

Making it to her dorm room door, Kaitlyn swings it open, dragging Emily inside. Once the both of them are in, she slams the door shut.

Emily stands, staring at Kaitlyn in confusion. "What the hell, Kaitlyn-"

"Sorry. That may have been a little extra," Kaitlyn stops, small frown forming on her lips.

Scoffing, Emily folds her arms with attitude as she sits on Kaitlyn's bed. "A little? Try A LOT."

Kaitlyn moves from the front of the door to her closet, where she snatches a red purse from out of a messy trunk. "I said sorry, damn!"

She pulls a nice sized bottle of _Remy Martin_ from her red purse, casting a devilish smile at it. Throwing the purse back into her trunk, Kaitlyn turns her smile on Emily. Still not understanding what her antics mean, Emily shrugs her shoulders and blinks profusely at her roommate. "What?! Why are you lookin' at me like that?"

"Be honest," Kaitlyn begins, her grin growing wider as she goes to her dresser. "You're into Chris, aren't you?"

Immediately frowning, Emily bursts out with an incredulous, "What?!"

Opening a drawer, Kaitlyn pulls out a pack of red Solo cups. She turns back to Emily, "I'm only askin' because I'm pretty sure I think I heard him mention something about a girlfriend."

Emily's frown deepens at the statement. She barely knew Chris and definitely knew that she wasn't interested in him in that way. However … She had to admit that he WAS pretty cute, though. And pretty flirty. When they ran into each other on the Quad earlier that day, he threw out smooth one liners like nobody's business. Kaitlyn bringing up him having a girlfriend got Emily's mind going, though.

"A girlfriend?" Emily started. Her face frowned up at her thought, "Are you talking about Becca?"

Raising an eyebrow, Kaitlyn scrunches her face up, trying to figure out who Emily was talking about. "Becca? You talkin' about that bitchy sorority girl from Welcome Week?"

Emily nods, "That's the one. Was it just me or was she, like, Exorcist-level possessive of Chris?"

Nodding her head in agreement, Kaitlyn continues, "Yeah. She was being EXTREMELY extra."

"Tell me about it," Emily responds with a grunt, folding her arms. She kept telling herself that she wasn't at all interested in Chris the way Becca was suggesting. They just had friendly conversation … but, throwing coffee on her earlier and trying to cause a scene with her at the Welcome Week Fair was enough to cause Emily to go into 'petty Betty mode'. She was gonna play with Becca as much as she could. Not that she really cared. But because it was fun.

Shaking her head, Kaitlyn says, "But, no. The girl Chris mentioned wasn't Becca. It was someone from back home."

THAT piqued Emily's curiosity. "Huh … _Now_ , I'm curious. I mean, we're _LIVING_ with this guy. We have a right to know if he's single or not!"

Giggling, Kaitlyn tightens her hold on the bottle of alcohol and the pack of red party cups. "Hmm … that makes sense to me. So you _ARE_ into him!"

"That's not what I meant! … Honestly, I'm just being nosy. It's not that deep to me, I really don't care," Emily responded, shrugging off the mischievous look Kaitlyn was giving. That statement was MOSTLY true. Even though she did find Chris attractive and wanted to get under Becca's skin, she was a pretty nosy individual by nature. Which definitely got her into trouble more than she'd liked to admit.

"Mm-hmm. Let you tell it," Kaitlyn snarks with sarcasm. "I'm pretty sure I know how to get him to spill his guts, though."

The mischievous smirk adorning Kaitlyn's lips was matched with a smirk that now befell Emily's face. She was interested in what her roommate had up her sleeve. "Is that right?"

"Oh, yeah. Watch and learn, my young apprentice."

With a scoff and a giggle, Emily gives Kaitlyn a playful slap on the wrist. "Girl, we the same age!"

Waving Emily off, Kaitlyn starts to head towards the door of her room. "Details, details. If we play our cards right, you'll get to ask Chris anything you want."

"Bet," Emily replied, smirking. With the bottle of alcohol and red party cups in tow, the two girls head out the room and make their ways back up to the roof.


	8. Shots Up!

Emily and Kaitlyn finally make it back up to the roof, coming to quite a hilarious and peculiar scene.

Abbie has taken the radio hostage, her phone plugged up to the auxiliary cord and— ( _ **Hide Away by Daya**_ ) — thumps from the speakers. Her and Zack argue in each other's faces, Zack making weak attempts at grabbing the aux cord.

"Zack, stop!" Abbie whines, snatching the phone and the aux cord out of Zack's reach. "Kaitlyn said I can choose the music!"

"I don't care what she told you, y'all ain't runnin' s**t around here!"

As Kaitlyn and Emily approach the gazebo, Chris catches eyes with Emily as the two girls rejoin the group. "Hey, hey, hey!" Kaitlyn shouts over Zack and Abbie, the two immediately stopping to shoot each other glares. The only thing that can be heard now is the music thumping from the radio and the snickering of both Chris and Tyler.

After a brief moment of silence, Kaitlyn claps her hands with excitement as she begins bouncing to the beat of the music. "Ooh, this is my JAM!"

Soon, all three girls are dancing and singing along with upbeat song that plays through the radio: " _Where do the good boys go to hide away, hideaway!_ "

Chris, Tyler, and Zack exchange an incredulous look with each other, chuckling. "Look's like we lost this one, guys," Chris replies, catching eyes with Emily as she rocks with Kaitlyn and Abbie to the music. Zack scoffs, a smirk escaping his lips. "Whatever, I guess … Y'all lucky I like this song!"

As the girls sway to the music, Kaitlyn saunters over to a frowning Zack. Smirking at him, she waves the bottle of Remy in his face while dancing. He tries to maintain the frown he has on his face but after a beat, he gives in, shooting Kaitlyn a small smile before joining the girls in the singing and dancing. He playfully glares at Kaitlyn as she hands him the bottle and cups.

The girls and Zack continue singing and dancing as Zack pops open the bottle of liquor and starts pouring everyone a cup.

" _Looking high and low, someone let me know! Where do the good boys go to hide away, hide away? Tell me where the good boys go! Tell me where the good boys go!_ "

The song comes to a close, fading out. Chris claps his hands in sarcastic applause as Zack hands him a cup of liquor. "Bravo! Encore!"

Tyler's eyes widen with a mixture of worry and fear before he quickly shouts, "No! Not that!"

Kaitlyn shoots Tyler a look as she is given a cup of her own. "What do you mean 'no', Tyler?! Was that suppose to be a joke on our singing abilities?"

"Uh, uh, uh, no! It's not that! I was just saying ..." Tyler stutters over himself before trailing off, completely at a loss at what to say. His face becomes red with hotness as Kaitlyn, Emily, and Abbie all get in his face, sending playful glares his way.

Soon, they all start talking at the same time towards Tyler, causing the poor boy to slink back in fear:

"Yeah? What _were_ you saying, Tyler?!" Kaitlyn shouts.

"I _know_ you're not trying to say we sounded bad!" Abbie says, attempting her best 'upset voice' that she could muster but there was no hiding her smirk that crossed her lips.

Emily lets out a snort and giggle before following with a, "You're really gonna play us like that, Ty?! Damn, that's f*cked up!"

Still clasping his red cup, Chris laughs as he moves in between the girls and Tyler, "Okay, okay! Let's give Ty a break. Everybody got their cup?"

He takes a quick look around at each of his roommates, all now holding cups of liquor in their hand, Abbie's phone starting up another song — ( _ **I Love College by Asher Roth**_ ) — Chris leads his five new roommates into a toast, raising his glass, the rest of them soon following. They hoot and howl at the song in excitement, full of smiles, laughs, and good vibes.

"To an unforgettable freshman year, guys," Chris says as they all clink their cups together in a toast.

"I'll drink to that!" Zack hoots, large grin brandishing his face as he and the others put their cups to their lips, taking a shot in unison. Every single one of them scrunch their faces up in distorted looks after taking the shot and swallowing, the liquor burning down their throats.

Kaitlyn claps her hands together victoriously as she downs the shot, her eyes closed as she hisses like snake as if she's in pain. Abbie and Tyler both stick their tongues as they make sounds of disgust. Tyler coughs as he finishes his cup, Emily just keeps her eyes closed with her brows furrowed and her face scrunched in silence. Chris is the only one remotely calm, keeping a straight face after he takes his shot.

"Oh, my God! I can feel that s**t in my chest!" Abbie says, putting a hand on her chest dramatically while taking big gulps of air.

"Ah, you guys are actin' like a bunch of wussies!" Chris laughs at his roommates, snatching the bottle from the table in the gazebo. He twists the cap open, pouring up another shot.

"Oh, no, sir! There's no way you are out drinkin' me! I don't know who you callin' a wuss, but it's definitely not me!" Kaitlyn pipes up, holding her cup out right in front of Chris. Emily and Zack soon follow, holding their cups to Chris's face.

"Pour me up!" Zack chortles.

"I'm just getting started," Emily remarks.

Chris grins at the three of them before pouring more liquor into each of their cups. "That's what I like to hear!"

They all fall in raucous cheer; Abbie and Tyler both simultaneously take a seat on the gazebo patio, clumsily bumping each other. Tyler's face reddens like a tomato, "Sorry, Abbie!" She giggles at him, subtly shooting him a flirty smirk just as she stands back to her feet, grabbing her cup. "Loosen up, Tyler! C'mon, let's take another shot."

"Yes, Abbie! That's my girl!" Zack cheers, holding his red cup over his head before putting it to his lips, guzzling the contents. Chris slaps him on the back, plopping on the patio, clenching his refilled cup of Remy. Emily loosely sits next to him with her own cup in her hand. She has a large, goofy smile brandished on her face as she takes small sips.

The rest of the roommates start taking seats, laughing and joking the entire way. Chris steals glances Emily's way, making her blush once she notices. Kaitlyn sees them, grinning to herself as she pours more liquor in both of their cups.

"C'mon on, dude!" Chris cries out.

"Kaitlyn!" Emily shouts out, voice laced with irritation.

Waving them off, Kaitlyn sits on the floor of the gazebo near the couch as she drinks from her cup. "Ooh, shut up! We gettin' wasted tonight!"

"I don't know about all that ... but, I do think I might be a little buzzed, though," Abbie comments, her cheeks rosy pink as she sips out her cup; her and Tyler having helped themselves to more shot(s). "It could just be the Remy. What are we about to do now?"

"I'm glad you asked, Abbie," Kaitlyn starts, smiling at her roommates mischievously. "I think it's time for us to play some _Truth or Truth_."


End file.
